Today the project teams from our 3 dialogue sites for the Elders Financial Abuse Awareness Dialogue Project convened at Heritage Hall for a one day training on Finding Home Dialogues and the Art of Convening and Hosting Dialogues. The project teams included staff and volunteers from Immigrant Services Society (hosting Finding Home Afghan Seniors Dialogues); South Vancouver Neighbourhood House (hosting Finding Home Punjabi Seniors Dialogues); and John Braithwaite Community Centre & North Shore Neighbourhood House (hosting Finding Home Multicultural Dialogues).

The training consisted of experiencing a Finding Home dialogue, developing culturally relevant messaging to invite seniors to each dialogue site, sharing culturally appropriate ways to invite, convene, & welcome participants to the dialogues. As well as how to sustain engagement after the dialogues and complete and ideas for celebrating success.

Seniors from each community shared tips. Did you know that a Punjabi senior recommends serving Red Rose tea because she claims it has more caffeine and makes Punjabi seniors feel at home? Another Punjabi senior recommends not shaking hands upon greeting one another but rather placing our hands in a prayer position. An Afghan senior recommends in her community to be careful not to show the soles of your feet when sitting down. All agreed, feeling welcomed and at home is critical for creating an atmosphere of dialogue. While cultural mistakes can happen, if the spirit of respect and friendship are present you can’t go wrong.

By the end of this community engagement and diversity training, participants had their outreach workplans completed (messaging, tasks and timelines delegated, identification of potential participants, finalized resource kits, welcome,etc…). We look forward to seeing the unique ways each group invites, convenes, welcomes and hosts the Finding Home dialogues for this regional project on Elders Financial Abuse Awareness funded by the Government of Canada New Horizons For Seniors Program.

Training Participants From Aghan, Punjabi and Multicultural Groups in the Lower Mainland